The Michigan based Saginawa Chippewa Tribe look set to strengthen their relationship with the Australian gaming solution providers Aristocrat. Meanwhile, the Poarch Band of Creek Indians of Alabama are taking their fight against Alabama Attorney General, Luther Strange, to federal court, as he tries to ban their electronic bingo games.
The Saginaw Chippewa Tribe in Michigan are set to enter the iGaming world courtesy of an extension of their partnership with the Aussie outfit Aristocrat. The turnkey solution provider already powers the Soaring Eagles Casino, in Mount Pleasant, with its Oasis 360™ casino management system, which is designed to fit like a glove with its nLiveLink virtual casino package. The initial offering will be a play-for-fun site, but don’t be fooled by the warm and cuddly approach. The new online site will attract a lot of users who, once legislation changes, will be converted into paying customers; a concern for any government official looking towards online gambling as a way to inflate Chippewa Tribe in Michigan are set to enter the iGaming world state coffers, especially as the Tribal Gaming Act protects the tribes from paying state tax.
Soaring Eagle Casino & Resort Director of Marketing and Entertainment Raul Venegas said, “Aristocrat has been a valued partner of Soaring Eagle Casino for many years, and as we embrace new technology and prepare for the next phase of our business ventures, we are very happy to have Aristocrat working side by side with us.”
Aristocrat Vice President of System Sales and Marketing Kelly Shaw said, “We are thrilled that Soaring Eagle Casino & Resort has chosen to expand their relationship with us in the online space, with our award-winning, first-in-the-industry solution. nLive is proven to be an effective tool for operators and an enjoyable means of entertainment for players, and we are thrilled that Soaring Eagle trusts us to take their incredible brand online.”
The Chippewa Indians, who own two land-based casinos in Michigan with the other being the Saganing Eagles Landing Casino in Standish, must surely have an eagle eye on the goings on in Oklahoma where the Cheyenne & Arapaho Tribes have recently reached state agreement to launch a real-money online gambling site. PokerTribes.com was originally launched as a play-for-fun site, but following agreement to keep out U.S customers and provide 20% of the cuts to the state, real-money gambling was allowed.
There’s more than one way to skin a cat.
So it seems the Chippewa Indians are taking a much longer route to monetization of their online arm, due to current restrictions on how they can operate, but the Poarch Band of Creek Indians of Alabama are showing that their is more than one way to skin a cat when it comes to turning a profit.
The Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA) allows Indian Tribes to engage in real money gambling in any form of bingo that they choose. In order to get the maximum use out of this clearly defined ruling, the Alabama Indians and International Game Technology (IGT) have put their heads together to create the electronic bingo game called ‘Red Hot Fusion’, that interestingly looks exactly like a slot machine of the very same name.
Alabama Attorney General, Luther Strange, who wants to shut down the tribe’s three land-based casinos on the ground that they are a ‘public nuisance’, believes that the electronic bingo machines are nothing but badly disguised slot machines and is determined to pull the plug from ‘Red Hot Fusion.’ The matter is being progressed to a federal level.
Seriously, isn’t their any real crime going on in Alabama?
